The Louvre

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Activists Toss Soup on Glass-Covered Mona Lisa

Protest at the Louvre in Paris was over sustainable farming

(Newser) - Two climate activists hurled soup Sunday at the glass protecting the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris and shouted slogans advocating for a sustainable food system, per the AP . The stunt—the latest in a series of similar actions —came amid protests by French farmers over several...

13th-Century Painting Found in Kitchen Goes to Louvre

Government action helped museum acquire 'Christ Mocked'

(Newser) - After being outbid for the painting in 2019, the Louvre has completed a four-year effort to acquire the 13th-century painting Christ Mocked. A government export ban helped make the acquisition possible. The work by Cimabue was headed for the trash when the family of the owner, a Frenchwoman in her...

Secretive Mona Lisa Gives Up a Secret
Secretive Mona Lisa
Gives Up a Secret
Oct 11, 2023 12:00 PM CDT

Secretive Mona Lisa Gives Up a Secret

Da Vinci gave the masterpiece her own distinctive chemical signature

(Newser) - The Mona Lisa has given up another secret. Using X-rays to peer into the chemical structure of a tiny speck of the celebrated work of art, scientists have gained new insight into the techniques that Leonardo da Vinci used to paint his groundbreaking portrait. The research, published Wednesday in the...

Man Disguised as Woman Throws Cake at Mona Lisa

It was apparently done in the name of the planet

(Newser) - A man seemingly disguised as an old woman in a wheelchair threw a piece of cake at the glass protecting the Mona Lisa at the Louvre museum and shouted at people to think of planet Earth. The Paris prosecutor's office said Monday that the man, 36, was detained following...

He Was Head of the Louvre. Now He's Been Charged

Jean-Luc Martinez ran world's most-visited museum from 2013 to 2021

(Newser) - It's an ignoble development for the man who once helmed Paris' Louvre. Former museum president Jean-Luc Martinez was this week questioned by police and then charged with complicity in fraud and "concealing the origin of criminally obtained works by false endorsement." The Guardian reports the case involves...

A Big First for Paris' Louvre
A Big First for
Paris' Louvre
May 27, 2021 11:20 AM CDT

A Big First for Paris' Louvre

Laurence des Cars appointed by President Macron as museum's first female president

(Newser) - It was a phone call Laurence des Cars had long waited for—and when it finally came this week, it was a "joyful and emotional moment." "I will never forget that call," the 54-year-old art historian tells France Inter , via the Guardian , of the correspondence that...

NYT Has Answers to Persistent 'Salvator Mundi' Questions

Including why it wasn't shown at the Louvre as planned in 2019

(Newser) - The world has had questions about "Salvator Mundi." The New York Times says it has answers. After the painting sold for an eye-popping $450 million in 2017, it remained out of the public eye, reportedly in the hands of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, its...

The Louvre Has Fabulous News for Art Lovers

482K works now accessible for free online

(Newser) - You can now explore almost half a million items in the collection of Paris’ Louvre museum without leaving the comfort of your own home. "For the first time, anyone can access the entire collection of works from a computer or smartphone for free, whether they are on display in...

Items Stolen in 1983 Are Back in the Louvre

Expert spotted the pieces of 16th-century Italian armor in a private collection

(Newser) - An expert in military antiquities summoned to appraise the items in a French family's collection turned to a modern tool—a database of missing artifacts—after seeing the pieces. The appraiser then called the police: Two pieces of 16th-century Italian armor in the collection had been stolen from the...

This Person Really Wanted to See the Mona Lisa

Bidder paid $98K to get closer glimpse of da Vinci's famous piece during annual inspection

(Newser) - How much would it be worth to get to see that Mona Lisa smile up close and personal, without any fellow gawkers blocking your view? According to one person, $98,000 . That's how much a bidder paid for the chance to watch as da Vinci's famous painting is...

Louvre Shuts During Outbreak
The Louvre Shuts Its Doors
Mar 1, 2020 11:29 AM CST

The Louvre Shuts Its Doors

Coronavirus fears rise as workers from northern Italy arrive to pick up da Vincis

(Newser) - The spreading coronavirus epidemic shut down France's Louvre Museum on Sunday, with workers who guard its trove of artworks fearful of being contaminated by the museum's flow of visitors from around the world. "We are very worried because we have visitors from everywhere," said Andre Sacristin,...

Please, Move the Mona Lisa
Time to Go, Mona Lisa
OPINION
Nov 7, 2019 7:50 AM CST

Time to Go, Mona Lisa

Columnist Jason Farago is tired of the selfie throngs at the Louvre

(Newser) - The Louvre needs to give the Mona Lisa her walking papers, argues Jason Farago in a New York Times op-ed. The painting is "the Kim Kardashian of 16th-century Italian portraiture" and "only moderately interesting" as a work of art, he writes. But you wouldn't know that by...

Louvre Covers Sackler Family Name With Tape

It's first major institution to remove the name

(Newser) - France's Louvre Museum in Paris has become the first major institution to remove the Sackler family name after protests erupted against the family that is blamed for the deadly opioid crisis in the US. At the Louvre's Oriental Antiquities gallery, an AP photographer late Wednesday saw tape covering...

Leonardo in Paris? Now Italy Is Mad

The Louvre wants to celebrate the Italian master

(Newser) - So versatile were Leonardo da Vinci's talents in art and science and so boundless his visionary imagination, he is known to the world as the universal genius, the AP reports. But not to Italy's nationalist-tilting government, which is livid about plans by the Louvre museum in Paris for...

Sexy Buildings Prove Too Hot for the Louvre

Museum pulls Dutch sculpture

(Newser) - A bit of x-rated architecture has the Louvre worrying about the potential corruption of young minds. The New York Times reports the venerable French museum has decided not to display "Domestikator," a 40-foot-tall installation by Dutch art collective Atelier Van Lishout. It was supposed to be unveiled in...

As France Votes, Louvre Is Evacuated

Suspicious bag left outside courtyard where Macron planned to celebrate

(Newser) - Emmanuel Macron's campaign press office says a suspicious bag that prompted the evacuation of the courtyard outside the Louvre museum where the centrist French presidential candidate has planned to celebrate election night. Macron's team said a press room had been set up at the downtown Paris location and...

Soldier Opens Fire on Paris Attacker

Machete-wielding man shouted 'Allahu akbar'

(Newser) - A French soldier shot and seriously wounded a man in a shopping mall beneath the Louvre Museum on Friday after he tried to attack a patrol and shouted "Allahu akbar," officials say. The man was carrying two backpacks and had two machetes, and when soldiers and police officers...

It's Raining So Much in Paris the Louvre Is Closed

Rising waters in France, Germany, and Belgium have already led to at least 6 deaths

(Newser) - The Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay closed their doors to the public Thursday as the Seine crept up past its normal water levels, prompting fears of flooding and peril to famous works in both Paris art institutions, the Independent reports. Local cops say that flood warnings for areas along...

Mystery Drones Over Major Sites Rattle Paris

Devices seen near Eiffel Tower, US embassy

(Newser) - Paris remains edgy after terror attacks earlier this year, and the appearance of five unexplained drones overnight isn't helping. "It could be a coordinated action, but we don't know yet," a police source tells the Telegraph of the devices, which were seen at well-known sites including...

Louvre Spending $67M to Keep You From Getting Lost

President plans to make museum more accessible to everyone

(Newser) - Ever waited in a two-and-a-half-hour line at the world's most-visited museum? Its own president has, when he tried visiting the Louvre as a tourist, the New York Times reports. Now, Jean-Luc Martinez is working to make the museum more visitor-friendly—and tougher to get lost in. He's reorganizing...

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